Los Barrios Family Cookbook: Tex-Mex Recipes from the Heart of San Antonio [Paperback]

Diana Barrios Trevino (Author), Emeril Lagasse (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 11, 2002

Since 1979, Los Barrios restaurant in San Antonio, Texas—the heart of Tex-Mex cuisine—has been serving up casero, or home-style, cooking that has charmed food critics and earned an impressive following. Founded with a small investment and a lot of spirit, Los Barrios built its reputation on the authenticity of its cuisine. The Los Barrios Family Cookbook offers these reputation-making recipes—from simple but impressive traditional Mex-ican dishes, many of which have been handed down and perfected through the generations, to modern Tex-Mex favorites—to fans of Southwest cuisine across the country.

Included are recipes for Mexican essentials: Homemade Flour Tortillas, Tamales, and Pico de Gallo; Barrios family specialties, such as Mama Viola’s Chicken Rice Soup and Acapulco-Style Ceviche; and the classics—Chiles Rellenos, Chalu-pas, and Enchiladas Verdes. All the recipes contain easy-to-find ingredients, and special cooking tips will help you prepare dishes at home that will be as delicious as those served in the restaurant. The Los Barrios Family Cookbook is a comprehensive and indispensable resource for food that explodes with flavor. ¡Buen provecho!

Editorial Reviews

Review

I’m always looking for new tastes and cuisines in different regions of the country, especially those that involve local culture. We went in search of big Tex-Mex cooking, which San Antonio is known for. I chose Los Barrios from the many Tex-Mex restaurants in the city because I fell in love with Diana Barrios Treviño and the entire Barrios family. . . . The dishes they have created contain amazing combinations and flavors that many people don’t get to experience. I wanted the rest of the country to sample what I was tasting. I wanted people to realize that true Tex-Mex cooking isn’t just fajitas and burritos. Now, with the Los Barrios Family Cookbook, I am excited to know that people across the country can easily prepare and taste all of the delicious dishes I experienced on my visit. Whether you like your food hot, medium, or mild—and these recipes have it all—you’ll love the food in this book.

—from the Foreword by Emeril Lagasse

From the Inside Flap

Since 1979, Los Barrios restaurant in San Antonio, Texas?the heart of Tex-Mex cuisine?has been serving up casero, or home-style, cooking that has charmed food critics and earned an impressive following. Founded with a small investment and a lot of spirit, Los Barrios built its reputation on the authenticity of its cuisine. The Los Barrios Family Cookbook offers these reputation-making recipes?from simple but impressive traditional Mex-ican dishes, many of which have been handed down and perfected through the generations, to modern Tex-Mex favorites?to fans of Southwest cuisine across the country.

Included are recipes for Mexican essentials: Homemade Flour Tortillas, Tamales, and Pico de Gallo; Barrios family specialties, such as Mama Viola?s Chicken Rice Soup and Acapulco-Style Ceviche; and the classics?Chiles Rellenos, Chalu-pas, and Enchiladas Verdes. All the recipes contain easy-to-find ingredients, and special cooking tips will help you prepare dishes at home that will be as delicious as those served in the restaurant. The Los Barrios Family Cookbook is a comprehensive and indispensable resource for food that explodes with flavor. ¡Buen provecho!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Villard (June 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375760970
• ISBN-13: 978-0375760976
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.6 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #502,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Trade secrets kept, April 3, 2003

By 

"alaninsa" (San Antonio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Los Barrios Family Cookbook: Tex-Mex Recipes from the Heart of San Antonio (Paperback)

Los Barrios is our family's favorite place to eat here in San Antonio. The food is great, the place is huge and the owners are nearly always there to ask us how we're doing and if we're enjoying our meal.

That said...well, I'm a bit biased about Blanco Road's best eatery.

The cookbook, though, is a letdown. We bought it while paying for a meal and had it autographed (Diana was our cashier) immediately. The book has some great stories, but the recipes are watered down versions of what's on the menu. We attempted to replicate our fave foods at home (y somos talentosos en la cocina). We couldn't with the book.

It's a fun read, but it's not going to enable you to make tasty, Los Barrios-like mole at home.

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, basic Tex-Mex, August 29, 2002

By 

Jennifer Barger (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Los Barrios Family Cookbook: Tex-Mex Recipes from the Heart of San Antonio (Paperback)

One of the people who reviewed this book below hasn't even read the book or been to the restuarant. Giving something one star under these circumstances makes no sense, and isn't useful to anyone.

Anyway, I'm a San Antonio native (now in D.C.), and I like this book. It gives really easy, very basic recipes for simple, slightly north of the border cuisine. No, you won't get mango burritos or anything wildly trendy, but you will get easy
recipes for green enchiladas and fajitas-worth the price of the book alone. I've got a large collection of Mexican and Tex Mex cookbooks, and this one gets used often.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent if its what you're looking for..., July 2, 2006

By 

Paul Webber (Texas, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Los Barrios Family Cookbook: Tex-Mex Recipes from the Heart of San Antonio (Paperback)

I was looking for a cookbook that dealt in the basics (I had never prepared a poblano pepper for roasting before), but that also had some interesting dishes. I have never been to the restaurant so I didn't have anything to compare my results to ( not that I should anyway) and I wanted something that had a good feel to it.

Overall, I am impressed with the book for someone like myself, new to cooking actual meals, and have already created homemade corn tortillas, pico de gallo, eggs mexicana and the chicken breasts in creamy poblano sauce. My family seems pleased with the results (my tortillas were a bit thick), and I'm going to continue to use the book until I outgrow it (it may be a while).

If you are a more experienced cook, especially in Mexican or Tex-Mex dishes, then this may be a little simple for you, but if you are fairly new to the cuisine then please consider it.

Have you made nachos as a family meal but not your own pico de gallo? Then this is your book.